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ST. CHARLES, Mo. – Senior Mariyah Brawner-Henley (Skokie, Ill./Niles North) scored 25 of her 27 points in the second half and overtime to help No. 4 Lewis women's basketball defeat Indianapolis 69-63 in the Great Lakes Valley Conference Tournament Quarterfinals on Thursday (March 3) night at Family Arena.

"Our team followed Mariyah's lead," Lewis head coach Kristen Gillespie said. "She had an unbelievable second half and put the team on her shoulders. Her will to win was incredible."

The teams played a sluggish first half, with the top seeded Flyers holding a 21-19 lead at the break. The third quarter saw more scoring than in the first 20 minutes of action, with Lewis up 42-40 heading into the fourth. Lewis' lead was short lived, as back-to-back Indianapolis treys put the eighth-seeded Greyhounds up 49-45 with 6:47 remaining. Lewis wouldn't tie the score again until 20 seconds remained. Brawner-Henley grabbed a rebound under the basket and went back up to make it 56-56. Indianapolis had a final possession, but Nicole Anderson's shot was no good at the buzzer.

In overtime, a jumper by sophomore Tiana Karopulos (Tinley Park, Ill./Andrew) opened the scoring in the frame to give Lewis their first lead in in nearly 10 minutes. An Indianapolis 3-pointer put the Flyers down a point with less than two minutes left, but Brawner-Henley was not to be denied. She scored the next five points to give Lewis the lead for good.

Indianapolis spent the majority of the game clamping down on Brawner-Henley and freshman Jessica Kelliher (Waukesha, Wis./Waukesha North) in the paint. The side effect was foul trouble for the Greyhounds, as three Indianapolis players fouled out. Brawner-Henley finished the game 8-of-12 from the free throw line. Kelliher was 10-of-12 from the stripe.

Offensively, Indianapolis leaned on Princess German's game-high 29 points.

Brawner-Henley added 10 rebounds to her 27 points for her 70^th career double-double. She now owns 1,954 career points, 15 points shy of becoming Lewis' all-time leading scorer.

Kelliher finished with 18 points. Karopulos recorded her first career double-double with 10 points and 11 rebounds off the bench.

"Tiana was the heart and soul," Gillespie said. "She really set the tone. Without her I think it's a different ending."

The game featured nine ties and 17 lead changes.

The win is Lewis' 23^rd straight, tying a school record for consecutive wins. The 28-1 Flyers will try to break the record on Saturday (March 5) at 2:30 p.m. against fourth seeded Quincy in the GLVC Tournament Semifinals.

Indianapolis finishes the season 10-20.